Newbee has had a disastrous season in Dota 2 but they finally did something they can be proud of.
Following the team’s exit from The International 2019 China Qualifier, Newbee got a small measure of redemption at the World Cyber Games 2019.
Newbee dominated the group stage of the main event, amassing a perfect 7-0 record against teams such as CDEC Gaming, Thunder Predator, and Black Sheep. In the playoffs semi-finals, Newbee faced Czech team Hippomaniacs, taking the series 2-1.
That allowed them to advance to the grand finals to face the Philippines’ Cignal Ultra. The Chinese team won the opening match thanks to the stellar performances of Song “Sccc” Chun and Tan “JiaJia” Lijia. Newbee’s momentum continued into game two as they played on a higher level and forced Cignal Ultra to tap out for a clean 2-0 win.
The first-place finish was worth $80,000 but it likely did little to ease the disappointment of missing out on The International.
Newbee gained huge popularity back in 2014 when the organization won The International with a star-studded lineup and received more than $10 million in tournament winnings. The team tried to repeat that feat at The International 2017 but fell short in the grand finals, losing to Team Liquid 3-0.
Newbee went downhill from there.
The organization retained its TI7 lineup for the 2017-2018 season but struggled to perform at both major and minor tournaments. After a poor performance at The International 2018, Newbee began retooling its roster using players from its developmental teams but no combination produced results. As a result, Newbee did not chalk up any DPC points during the season.
Though Newbee’s poor showing in Dota Pro Circuit events will ultimately be the defining narrative for the team’s 2019, the performance at the World Cyber Games and the generally solid showing in the TI9 qualifiers shows that the current Newbee lineup had the pieces to perform at a high level.
That said, the organization is likely to perform an extensive remodeling of its roster in September.
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